places to stay in Bayonne or Biarritz?

New Member

Greetings. I will be walking the Camino in early June from SJPP. I am fairly sure I will have to stay overnight in Bayonne or Biarritz before getting the train to SJPP. I haven't had much luck looking for places to stay on the Internet....mosty fancy hotels, etc. Any suggestions? Gracias!

Moderator

If you need to stay over-night stand outside the station in Bayonne and look left across the parking lot. There you will see the Hotel Paris Madrid which is run by Patrick and Sylvie Sorbois. A comfortable room can be had for about 30 euros +/-.

There is more information on a posting under El Camino Frances titled Insurance

New Member

I've just come back (last night) from my first Camino.
I stayed at the Hotel Paris Madrid whilst in Bayonne and received a warm welcome there. Patrick speaks excellent English and will advise you on the Camino etc. As recommended by Peter Robbins, I walked to St. Jean Pieds de Port on a well waymarked path. It gave me a few days practice before crossing from St. JPP to Roncesvalle.

New Member

I walked from Bayonne to Bas Cambo (1km from Cambo les Bains) and stayed at the Hotel Tante Ursule. The second night I stayed on a farm in Irissary with a delightful family who spoke some English.

Both were found on the Internet after a lot of searching, and were booked by telephone.

If the tourist authorities in the area want to develop this route as an alternative to taking the train to St. JPP they need to update their websites. I also contacted the (many local) tourist offices by phone to ask about accomodation on the route, but they didn't seem very clued up.

It's a route worth taking, very attractive countryside, gradually climbing the Pyrennees and well waymarked. I think I was the only person using it at the time as I never met another walker!

regards

Peter

PS
Peter, in reply to your question of last April, yes I am of the LDWA.

Veteran Member

Interesting: the Amis website does not list the farm in Irissary, though there is a hotel in Helette http://www.aguerria.com/ There's nothing else listed on the long stretch from Cambo to St Jean le Vieux.

I've generally found that tourist offices are good for the immediate environs but the further away you get from the town the office is in, the less they know. Promoting routes is always a problem for small organisations such as the Amis; you will find few walkers on them, because few walkers are aware of them. The FFRP have the advantage with their GRs as they are shown on IGN and Michelin maps. Having said that, I did notice that the Bayonne-St Jean route is marked on one of the 1:25000 IGN maps.

Active Member

Peter,
Could you give more information either in private or on this website about your walk from Bayonee to SJPP?

How many days total did the walk take?
How many km per day did you walk?
Were exactly does the trail begin?
Do you have an email address for the farm where we can book a night?
Cost of those two nights?
Any other information that might be helpful?

We are seriously considering this option but need to decide soon so we can cahnge our reservations in SJPP at Chemin.

New Member

Member

I've just come back (last night) from my first Camino.
I stayed at the Hotel Paris Madrid whilst in Bayonne and received a warm welcome there. Patrick speaks excellent English and will advise you on the Camino etc. As recommended by Peter Robbins, I walked to St. Jean Pieds de Port on a well waymarked path. It gave me a few days practice before crossing from St. JPP to Roncesvalle.